Behind Blue Eyes
by ContiguousThoughts
Summary: She's the fool who can't fall in love. He's the sap who can't fall out of it. When these two souls cross paths, what will happen? I mean, they say opposites attract... right? Rated M for later chapters. OC x Sodapop Curtis
1. Chapter 1

_"I'm a nightmare, a disaster. That's what they'd always say."_

_- Me Against the World by Simple Plan_

Chester, Pennsylvania wasn't the ideal place for kids to grow up. Well, it also depended on what part of the city you lived in. Growing up, Danni Shepard had to fight to be top of the food chain in the streets.

Now was a time when she wished she had better cardio. With her hand clutching her side, her ratty Converse shoes slapped against the sidewalk as she dodged the bright street lamps. Her breath came out forced as she felt herself grow woozy from blood loss. Pulling her hand away from the open wound on her right side as she ran, she couldn't help but flinch when she noticed how thickly the blood covered her palm. "Fuck," she cursed as she tried to push her legs to go faster.

Danni heard the sirens before she saw the flashing lights. She skidded to a halt before turning to run back from where she came. As she went to turn, her legs got tangled beneath her. Danni caught herself against the concrete before she could land on her side. "Shit!" she cried out as she was jerked up by the collar of her black leather jacket.

Sweat matted her shoulder-length onyx curls to her forehead and the back of her neck. She groaned in pain as the fuzz cuffed her and checked her for weapons, hitting her side and pulling his hand away once he felt the wetness. Sticky blood covered his hand as Officer Jacobson shook his head in disappointment.

"Damn it, Shepard. You know what your foster mother is going to say when she hears you been arrested again?" he hissed as he lead her to the back of the car.

The fuzz always annoyed Danni to no end. She scowled, "I don't care what the ol' bitch says. Besides, what are you gonna do to about the boy who stabbed me? Think you're playin' favorites by letting him go?" The cop said nothing as he shoved her into the back of the car. Once he was seated in the drivers seat, she continued, "Is it cause his family has money?"

Officer Jacobson ignored her, "I'll take you to the hospital. Your foster mom will meet us there. You know you're lucky I'm not taking you in?"

It always seemed that Danni wore a permanent scowl on her face to match her hard, ice blue eyes. She leaned her head back against the seat, enjoying the silence until Officer Jacobson started the scolding; he treated her as if she were a little kid. "I know you're a smart girl. Book smart and street smart. You're sixteen. You should be focusing on achieving in school rather than fighting on the streets."

Danni couldn't help but scoff, "I dropped out yesterday. I'm not going back to that hellhole." The officer was quiet the rest of the ride to the hospital. She couldn't help but bite her lip as the pain increased in her side.

Once they were in the hospital parking lot, Officer Jacobson opened her door and tried to get her out as gently as he could. She groaned as she stood up straight in the frigid air. It was a wonder why he was so… kind after all the trouble she caused him. She was only eleven the first time she had been jailed. Ever since then, she had only gotten worse.

"Just try to make the right choices, Danielle," Officer Jacobson said, making her frown at the use of her real name. He soon left her alone in one of the rooms with a doctor. With gritted teeth, Danni let the doctor put the stitches in her side. With the way he kept looking at her, she could basically feel him judging her. Street Rat. Delinquent. Hood. All labels she had been called before.

While the doctor finished stitching Danni up, her foster mother entered the room. Her hair was pulled up but that didn't stop it from looking like a rat's nest. "Danielle Marie, what the hell were you thinking?" she screeched as her brown eyes scanned the long wound on Danni's side. The doctor was quick to exit the room, clearly wanting to escape the feud that was about to happen.

Danni leaned up on her elbows, winching but not backing down from the wicked witch. "The asshole was insulting Karen! She's only thirteen! She hasn't learned how to stand up for herself! I had to-"

She was cut off by her foster mother, who made an angry noise. "That doesn't mean you had to fight!"

The woman turned away from the teen on the bed, shaking her head angrily. "No matter. I contacted your cousins from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tim and Curly Shepard. Told them of all the trouble you caused and after some consideration, they agreed to take you in. You'll be out of Chester by tomorrow morning."

"Good. That means I don't have to put up with your bullshit anymore."

Her foster mother looked at her, the pity in her eyes pissed Danni off more than anything. "I'll be here in the morning with your things." She was then left alone in the chilly hospital room.

* * *

Meeting Tim Shepard was probably one of the most awkward moments Danni had ever had happen. As soon as she had knocked on the door to his home, he stared her down. Tim's features reminded her of an alley cat that had gotten into too many fights. He had dark blue eyes with black hair that curled at the ends. His nose looked as if it had been broken one too many times and a faded scar ran from his temple to his chin. Tim looked nothing like the guys in Chester did. "You Danielle?" he had asked.

With a hardness in her voice, she couldn't help but say, "Yeah, I'm Danni." He just smirked and lead her inside.

He gave her a short tour of the house. The inside didn't look any better than the outside did. There was a small couch in the living room with a small television. One bathroom and three bedrooms. One was filled with crud and, of course, that was soon to be her room they had to clean out. Tim told her she would be sleeping on the couch until it was emptied of the junk and had a proper bed in it. Then, he informed her that Curly was out with a couple members of his gang, doing God knows what. They sat at the small, wooden table they had dinner at. Small carving were in it, most likely Curly's doing since he was the younger sibling.

"So, what'd you do to get kicked outta Chester?" Tim asked as he took a sip of beer. Danni scrunched her nose at the disgusting drink.

"What didn't I do?" Danni frowned. "From stealing to getting into gang fights. I was nothing but a problem to them." Tim watched as her emotions flickered across her face. Controlling her emotions was one of her worst problems, especially her anger.

"You know," Tim started, breaking her from her thoughts, "you ain't the only one like that around here. Damn, that's basically how everyone in my crew acts. If you want, you can hang with us some time. Get a feel of it." Danni watched him with a guarded expression. The way Tim would give her that cat-like smile made goose bumps form on her arms. "We get into rumbles with Socs, go around causin'-" Tim was cut off as Danni asked a question.

"What's a Soc?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed as a confused look formed on her face.

Tim let out a hard laugh before explaining, "A Soc is a rich kid. South Side Social. They don't take to kindly to us Greasers."

Danni bit her lip, trying to put everything together. "Did you say Greaser?" she finally asked. Why couldn't they just use 'rich' and 'poor' when talking about this stuff?

Tim chuckled again, "Girl, you got a lot to learn. A Greaser is what we are. Put grease in our hair, tough people and tuff lookin'." Danni nodded as she took everything in. Maybe she did have a lot to learn…


	2. Chapter 2

_"You're not the only one refusing to back down. You're not the only one. So get up."_

_- Riot by Three Days Grace_

Around noon, she had gotten bored sitting around the house. She had made up a bullshit excuse to leave, telling Tim that she wanted to adventure around and see what she could find. He was surprisingly okay with that, telling her to be home by midnight. If Danni were back in Chester, she would have had to sneak out because of the old bitch. She threw on her black leather jacket over her dark indigo tank top. Her jeans had holes all down the legs and her hair hung in loose curls around her narrow face.

As she walked down the streets, she couldn't help but notice how a lot of people dressed the same. Screaming children ran by Danni, making her scowl. Don't get her wrong, she liked kids. Just not the screaming and crying. A group of guys wolf whistled at her, making her raise her middle finger towards them. She hated when men acted like pigs.

As she was passing a grocery store, a red Mustang slowed down next to her. Danni's fist tightened around the switch she kept in her jacket pocket. "What's a pretty greaser like you doin' walking around by her lonesome?" the boy in the passenger side called. Danni ignored them, walking at a faster pace to see if they would get the hint and leave. They only followed after her.

"How much are you for one night?" another boy called, making his friends howl with laughter. Danni swallowed back a hateful comment and made a turn down a narrow street filled with run-down houses. They just kept following her every move.

After following her for another block and yelling horrid things, she had enough. "Fuck off, pricks!" she yelled with her hands balled into fists at her side.

The teenage boys then parked their Mustang next to her as they all climbed out. There was only three but it would still be an unfair fight. One of the boys strolled towards her, a smirk planted on his face. They were all dressed very sharp and their hair was all combed back.

One boy with brown curls spit on her shoe, making her fill with rage. "Who the hell do you think you are?" she growled as her eyes narrowed dangerously. The thought of pulling a blade on these three suddenly felt like a really great idea.

The boy laughed, taking yet another step closer to her, "Who am I?" Danni said nothing as she chewed on the inside of her lip. He laughed again as he turned to his friends, "The bitch really doesn't know!"

Danni's eyes roamed towards the small alley they were at the entrance until they landed on a rusted pipe. She quickly walked over and snatched it from the ground. A boy with black, wavy hair snickered, "Isn't exactly fair that you have a weapon."

Danni snorted, "And you call three against one fair?"

Before they could come any closer, a voice rang out, "Don't you touch her, pretty boy." Ice blue eyes scanned the three boys less than a couple yards away.

"Yeah? And what are you low-lives gonna do if we just so happen to touch this scum?" the guy asked as he motioned to Danni. She growled as she threw the short pipe at his head. It busted his forehead open and blood spilled out, causing his friends to gasp.

The guys eyes narrowed as he flipped open a switch in his hands. "You little bitch." He wasn't able to take one step towards her because he was flung to the ground by a boy with a Mickey Mouse t-shirt on with the sleeves cut off.

A blade was pressed against the guys throat as the boy hissed, "Get back to your own side of town." He got up from the guy, and soon all three of them scrambled to their car and sped off.

Danni inhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath the entire time. The guy with the greased back hair smirked at her, "Little missy, you could have gotten into quite a scuffle there." He gave her a goofy grin, his gray eyes twinkled with mischief. He was pretty tall, at least six feet. He had a stocky build and rusty-colored hair with long sideburns.

"I could have handled it on my own," Danni snapped, feeling ashamed she had done nothing to the guy but bust his head open.

"Yeah, really seemed like it," a sarcastic remark came from one of the other guys. Danni's teeth were gritted as she took a deep breath to calm herself. The one that made the remark was tall and lean, his posture made him look cocky. His dark hair was thickly greased and was combed in difficult swirls. His dark eyes looked her over as she stood in her defensive stance. She leaned up straighter, trying to make herself look tough.

The last guy just stared her down with his eyes narrowed and his lips pressed together in a hard line. He had high cheekbones and a pointed chin. His hair was so blonde it was almost white and was not greased; it fell over his forehead in wisps and kicked out in the back in tuffs and curled behind his ears and along the nape of his neck. His blue eyes blazed like ice - similar to Danni's. His presence made Danni feel edgy, he looked so wild in a way Tim did.

"Name's Two-Bit Mathews," the first boy informed as he stuck a hand out. She slowly grabbed it as he shook her hand. "This is Steve Randle and Dallas Winston." He pointed to each one as he called them by name. She simply nodded.

Two-Bit looked at her, as if he was waiting for something. She wanted to smack herself when she realized he was waiting for her name. "Sorry. Uh, my name is Danni Shepard."

Dallas snorted as he spit on the sidewalk, "Well, that explained the attitude." Danni sent daggers with her eyes and he met hers with the same expression.

Two-Bit waved Dally off, "So, how come we never heard of you?"

Danni licked her dry lips, "I just moved from Chester, Pennsylvania."

Two-Bit nodded, the goofy smile never left his lips. "Well, if you wanna have a bit of fun, you can hang with us for a bit."

Danni looked at him with narrowed eyes, "I don't want to have sex."

His laugh boomed in her ear, it was very loud and seemed to carry. He was still chuckling when he said, "Nah, not that. Just hang out. Walk around and whatnot." Heat rose to her cheeks; embarrassed that she had misinterpreted the word "fun."

Danni watched the reactions of the other boys. Their faces never changed or flickered with emotion as Two-Bit asked her to be with them without asking the others. _Well, I don't have nothing better to do_, she thought to herself. Her tongue skimmed her teeth before she agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

_"I've been left for dead. For the way I look, for the things I've said."_

_- You Won't Feel a Thing by The Script_

The more time she spent with the three teenage boys, the more she felt herself relax. They really brought out the best of you. Well, Two-Bit and Steve did. Dallas was quiet as he just watched, talking smack about a Soc or someone he hated at one point then he would go back to silence. Two-Bit and Steve talked about their group of friends. How they were like a family to them.

They walked to a regular hang out for Greasers. It was a small little restaurant called The Dingo. The bell chimed overhead as they entered the building, people were buzzing around them as they sat themselves at a booth. Danni sat beside Two-Bit and in front of Dallas with Steve right across the table.

A blonde waitress walked over to them and Two-Bit stared. "What can I get y'all to drink?" she asked as she pulled out a notepad and the pencil that was stuck behind her ear. They each listed their drinks to her; Danni ordered a Coke product.

When she left, Two-Bit watched her. "Damn, would you look at them legs on that blonde," he murmured. Danni rolled her eyes as the others chuckled.

"So," Steve started as he watched Danni, "what was life like in Chester? I heard it has some pretty bad crimes there."

Danni nodded her head, "Well, it's similar to here but a bit bigger. You have the separate groups along with the middle class. There's a ton of gangs there, too." Dallas just analyzed her as she talked, making her shift uncomfortably.

"Were you part of a gang?" Two-Bit asked.

Danni nodded her head, "Some had names for their groups and some didn't. Mine didn't. It was basically me along with another girl and ten guys. I was ranked pretty high in it."

Two-Bit chucked as he elbowed her side lightly, "Looks like we got ourselves a little badass." A short laugh escaped her lips as she silently nodded in agreement.

The waitress handed them their drinks and was quick to take their orders. Danni ordered a simple cheeseburger with fries. She left then, and Two-Bit still stared. "Remind me to try and get her number," he whistled under his breath.

"Yeah, like you can get her," Dallas commented with a snort. Two-Bit simply chuckled as he took a sip of Coke.

"You know, we should take Danni to meet the rest of the gang in a bit," Steve suggested as he swirled the straw around in his -Bit nodded his head in agreement.

Finally, Dally leaned forward as he looked straight into Danni's eyes. Goosebumps formed on the back of her neck at the look he gave her. "Enlighten me on why you would wanna move from Chester to this place. I'm curious."

Danni felt her hand automatically go to the back of her neck as she rubbed it nervously. "Well, uh. You see, I caused too much trouble for the fuzz and my foster mother. I guess she kinda found out that Tim and Curly were here and made a call to them. They agreed to take me in for the time being."

Two-Bit's eyebrows drew together as he pondered her words, "What do you mean by for the time being?"

Danni's tongue poked at her canines as she thought of the correct way to word her explaination. "I never really stay in one place for long." Silence fell over the table until the waitress was back with their food.

The food tasted okay to her, kind of bland in a way. The fries were basically burnt and the only thing that made them taste better was ketchup. Two-Bit took the awkwardness away as he made jokes that actually made Danni giggle a bit. Two-Bit was a lively person to be around.

Once they were finished - and Two-Bit bought Danni's food after insisting - they started for what was known as the Curtis house. "You'll love 'em," Two-Bit commented as he talked about the three brothers and the Cade boy.

Walking down the narrow sidewalks, Steve talked about cars and racing. Apparently he was a mechanic at a local gas station along with his buddy. Dallas started to talk about fighting, how he loved the gang fights up in New York. The way he talked made him seem to act almost exactly how Danni thought of her home town. A sense of homesickness washed over her; she missed her friends terribly. For the time being, she would ignore the feeling and just go with the flow.


	4. Chapter 4

_"And she doesn't give a damn about me. 'Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby."_

_- Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus_

As they neared the Curtis house, Danni took in it's looks. It had a fence running around it with a gate for the walkway. A run down truck was parked in the small driveway. The house wasn't nearly as bad looking as Tim's was. It gave off a homey vibe. She was led to the porch and Two-Bit led her inside after Dally and Steve had gone in.

"Honey, I'm home!" Two-Bit called loudly. A man sitting in a large chair chuckled at the comment as he skimmed over the paper, sitting it down to look at the group that had arrived.

The man looked curiously at Danni, who stood awkwardly beside Two-Bit. The guy had broad shoulders and muscles. His dark-brown hair kicked out in the front and he had a small cowlick in the back. His eyes looked like blue-green ice. He was tall just sitting down and looked older than the rest of them, at least in his early twenties. She couldn't help but admit to herself that he was quite handsome. "Who's your friend, Two-Bit?"

Two-Bit shoved her forward so she could be seen better, making her scowl at him. He just chucked as he said, "This is Danni Shepard. Her cousins are Tim and Curly."

Steve and Dally took a seat on the couch near a timid looking boy. He looked like a puppy that had been kicked too many times and was lost in a sea of strangers. His black eyes were wide in a dark tanned face. He seemed smaller than the others, with a slight build. His jet-black hair was heavily greased and combed to the side, but fell in shaggy bangs across his forehead. He looked at her with suspicion in his dark eyes. A light scar ran across his cheek. She watched as he tugged his jean jacket closer to his body.

"Danni, this is Darry Curtis," he informed as he pointed to the man, "And Johnny Cade." A young looking boy walked in from what seemed to be the kitchen at that point. His greenish-gray eyes looked at her with such strong curiosity. "And that's Ponyboy Curtis." Two-Bit then told him my name as well.

Ponyboy had reddish-brown hair that was long in the front and short in the back. It was coated in grease so it shined in the lighting. He looked a lot younger than everyone else, most likely the youngest she had met. He gave her a slight nod as he analyzed her like she was doing to him.

"Uh, hi," was the only thing that seemed to come out of her mouth. She never seemed to function normally around new people.

Ponyboy gave her a warm smile, "Hey."

Darry leaned forward on his chair, "So, where you from, Danni?"

Two-Bit showed her to the couch and she took a spot next to Dallas. His eyes were focused on some show playing on the television. "Well, I'm from Chester, Pennsylvania. I stayed there with my foster mom."

Darry nodded as he took in what she said. "Where are your parents? You seem pretty young."

Dally looked at her indescribably as she shifted in her seat with her muscles clenched. "Um, they passed away when I was ten."

Darry looked at her with a slight regret on his face, as if he wished he hadn't asked. "I'm sorry. We lost our parents as well. I know how it feels." She nodded her head as her gaze fell to the television. On it was a cartoon playing: Mickey Mouse. She watched without taking in any of the episode. She heard talking around her but paid no attention. Her mind was somewhere far from here. Danni couldn't help but think of the night her parents were killed.

_Young Danielle was sent to her room for misbehaving. Her parents lived in a small town in northern California at the time. They were probably middle class. Her mother was gorgeous. Blonde ringlets with pale blue eyes. Her figure was like an hourglass. Her father had tanned skin with icy blue eyes and ebony hair; he always wore it slicked back with hair gel._

_Danni sat in her room, pouting as she flipped aimlessly through some small book her mother had got for her on her birthday. She flung her short curls over her shoulder as she read. It was quiet downstairs, but the loud bang caught her attention. She stared at her closed door and her heart rate increased. Danni wondered what was going on._

_She stood up from the bed, sitting her book aside before walking towards the door. Slowly twisting the knob and pulling the door open, she quietly peaked out into the hall. "Just give me the money and no one will get hurt," a monotone voice commanded. Danni couldn't see anything, but got frightened. She ran back into her room and dived under the bed._

_She watched the door, waiting and listening as the volume of the voices increased. Chills ran down her spine as she heard the first shot of the gun go off. Then a scream. Ending with another bang of the gun. Silent tears strolled down her face. Surely the man hadn't taken her parents from her?_

_Danni waited and waited under her bed for what felt like an eternity. She heard the sirens before the police had come in. They searched throughout the house, finally finding her curled under the bed fame sobbing uncontrollably. They warned her of the scene that was in the next room over, telling her to close her eyes but she didn't listen. Her parents lay there in the living room with their bodies laying in pools of their own blood. Louder sobs erupted from her throat at the sight, causing the police to rush her out quickly. The next week she was in foster care._

"Danni?" Ponyboy asked as he waved a hand in her face. Her gaze snapped up towards his face which was twisted in concern.

"Sorry. I kind of zoned out," she mumbled as she leaned up from the couch.

Ponyboy snorted, "I was askin' if you wanted anything from the fridge. Like drinkwise."

Danni's face heated in embarrassment, "Just a Pepsi, if you have it." He nodded.

Darry looked up from the paper and said, "Hey, Pony. Get Sodapop up. He's slept in long enough." Pony left the room and brought her the Pepsi before bounding off to get what Danni guessed was his brother.

"Y'know," Dally began as he leaned forward from the couch, an eyebrow arched as he looked everyone over. "I think we should all see a movie tonight and go to the Nightly Double? It's been a while. Danni can come if she wants."

Darry looked at him, "I won't be able to. I have work early in the morning'."

Steve nodded his head, "I don't have anything to do." Two-Bit offered to bring the booze and Johnny simple nodded. Ponyboy walked in on that moment, and agreed to go as well.

"What about you, Dan the Man?" Two-Bit asked with a chuckle.

"Shut up, moron," she growled, only making him chuckle.

A boy walked in at that moment, rubbing his eyes as he asked tiredly, "Did you just call someone 'Dan the Man', Two-Bit?" he asked before looking up and meeting Danni's blue eyes. Her cold gaze warmed unwillingly.

The boy looked like he walked out of a movie. He wasn't as tall as his older brother, and was slimmer with a nice build. His face was finely drawn, sensitive looking but seemed like it could be thoughtful and devious at the same time. His hair was dark-gold that was combed back, it was silky looking. His eyes seemed to be one of his best features. They were chocolate brown and looked so lively. He looked at her closely, seeming to drink in her features.

"Soda, this is Danni Shepard. Danni, this is Sodapop Curtis."

Sodapop grinned widely at her, his teeth were so white and straight. "Hi."

She felt herself look away from his intent gaze, "Hello."

Steve brought up the Nightly Double, asking if Sodapop was willing to tag along. As she stared straight ahead towards the television, she could feel Soda's eyes watching her. "Is everyone here going?"

She watched the sly look Steve gave before answering the question, "Everyone but Darry."

Soda nodded before walking into the kitchen, scratching at his bare chest, "Yeah, I'll go. I'm off tonight anyway."


	5. Chapter 5

"_I can't feel all the things you've ever felt before. I said it's been a long time since someone looked at me that way."_

_- Together by The XX_

The Nightly Double was like any ol' drive-in theater. Upon the small groups arrival, the first movie was halfway through. Cars clogged the green grass close to the screen. Rows of empty seats were bolted near the concessions.

Even though they all had the money to get in, Dally refused having to pay. He believed that sneaking in was more daring and exciting. All seven shimmied their bodies through the hole in the fence that ran around the entire perimeter of the property. After Danni had slid through the opening, a calloused hand lingered near her to offer help up from the ground. She was hesitant, but gratefully grasped it as he helped her to her feet. "Thanks," she mumbled, getting a cheery grin in response.

Since they had met that afternoon, Danni couldn't help but observe that Sodapop Curtis was always within five feet from her. The tough girl would never admit it, but the attention from the handsome boy was honestly quite flattering.

"Anyone was anything from the stands? My treat," Two-Bit offered with a smirk. At once, everyone called out their requests as he walked towards the rotting building. White paint was peeling from the outer walls and the shingles were starting to fall apart. The stench of burnt popcorn caused Danni's nose to scrunch up in disgust.

The group filled in two rows. While Pony and Dally saved seats for Two-Bit and Johnny, who was kind enough to offer Two help, Danni was stuck beside Sodapop with Steve on Soda's other side.

A sigh of frustration escaped her pinkish lips once she realized the second movie showing would be a Western flick. Fingers absentmindedly ran through her charcoal curls as she tried to relax. Although the thought of relaxation was soothing, it was nearly impossible as Sodapop's thigh would graze against her own.

He laughed a throaty chuckle, "What? Don't enjoy a good Western film?"

A sour look crossed Danni's face, but confusion lingered within her mind. _How did he figure that out? Am I that obvious to read? _she questioned. She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, to him and her curious thoughts. "Eh. Just not a fan."

Sodapop nodded understandingly, his arm slinging around the back of her chair. Her mouth formed into a tight line, feeling as if her personal space had been invaded. "I'm more for the comedy. Maybe action."

Danni looked down into her lap as his chestnut eyes fell to look at her. The corner of her lips tugged upward, much to her dismay. The reason for her strange behavior was blamed on the fact that he he had the looks of a movie star. Yes… that had to have been the reason.

Two-Bit and Johnny returned, passing out the snacks and beverages. Danni had gotten nothing, but Sodapop stuck his package of sour candies before her. Her icy eyes could simply stare. Wonder why her thoughts went into overdrive just because he had simply offered her some of her candy. With a bit of reluctance, her fingers gently dipped into the package and pulling out a hard candy. She shoved it into her mouth right as the film began.

Danni Shepard sat throughout the movie with her Converse against the back of Dally's chair, kicking it occasionally to rile him up. After getting bored with Dally, she then began to throw little pieces of popcorn into Two-Bit's greasy hair. She couldn't stop the grin that broke out when he started to throw them back.

"I don't know 'bout y'all, but this movie sucks ass," Two-Bit yawned. Dally, on the other hand, was completely into it. I had been informed by Steve that Dally had been born in Texas and rode in the local rodeo.

"You guys go ahead and leave." Dally flicked his wrist back to shoo them off, "You guys are distracting me anyway."

Danni stood from the hard plastic seat, stretching as she stated that she was cool with ditchin' this place and heading somewhere else. Soda was quick to agree and Steve grumpily agreed. They left the Nightly Double and headed for a lot they claimed they usually hung out in.

Couches and a mattress had been dragged into the small lot. A pit for a fire was built. Two-Bit wore a victorious grin as he pulled a vodka bottle from his secret hiding place. Steve whooped as he was the first to take a large swig of the burning drink. Sodapop declined, but it was obvious that he didn't need to drink. With the way he had acted all day, it was noticeable that he was already high on life. Danni took greedy sips of the scorching liquid, flinching a bit as it left a fiery trail down her

As the boys crowded the couches, Danni stuck to the mattress. Her eyes gazed at the vast amount of twinkling lights that littered the sky. Her thoughts took a turn as her thoughts became deeper. When drunk, she became less reckless and more thoughtful.

Two-Bit was the first to leave the small group. He claimed he had to pick his mother up from work early in the morning and wished to be sober enough. Steve was next. He had work earlier than Sodapop did. So it was just the two of them.

He crawled onto the mattress, close enough to her sprawled out body to feel the heat radiating off of his skin. Danni's icy blue eyes were dilated and looked warmer in her drunken state. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, his own gaze traveling towards the stars.

"Honestly, I've been curious as to why you've stayed so close to me." She laughed, accidentally snorting and quickly clasping her hand against her nose. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he laughed; his perfect teeth seemed to practically glow from how white they were.

"You're an interestin' person. I wanna get to know you a bit better."

Danni grinned, turning to lay on her side so she was face to face with Sodapop Curtis. "And what do you want to know?"

"What's your favorite color?"

Soon enough, questions similar to that started to pour from his mouth. And she answered honestly.

Sodapop was radiant. His shining aura seemed to practically pull her in, as it did with many girls. But her dark aura seemed to yank him in even more. He could see it now in her vibrant blue eyes that she put up a front. Was forced to act tough when really she just wanted to give up. She was tired of the constant battles between separate groups. Her past was questionable and the mystery of the girl just drew him in closer.

"I need to get home," Danni frowned, taking one last sip from the bottle. Soda stood beside her, offering her a ride home in which she happily agreed to. Soda told Darry where he was headin' before snatching the keys and helping Danni in the car.

The ride was short and he walked her to the door. "Considering the state you seem to be in at this moment," Sodapop smirked as he stepped closer towards her. The light by the door sent their shadows dancing across the dying lawn. "You may not remember this."

Sodapop brought his lips down to her head, placing a soft near her hairline. She giggled at him, almost forgetting her manners. When he pulled away, she thanked him for the ride home. Danni giddily made her way into the house and plopped down onto the sofa, only laying there for minutes before passing out cold.

* * *

**GummyPenguins: Thank you so much for the encouraging review! Hopefully the story will become more in depth as we get further along. :)**

**Guest(s): Thank you (you guys) for the sweet comments! :)**


End file.
